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Martins, Okogie task Buhari on economy, corruption, others

By Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu Benin City, Kenechukwu Ezeonyejiaku and Mercy Ada
06 August 2015   |   3:03 am
CATHOLIC Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev Alfred Adewale Martins yesterday commended the resolve of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption in the country, urging him to be thorough in the exercise and not spare anyone found guilty of the offence.
Alex-Badeh2

Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh

• Urge clemency for convicted soldiers
• Amu commends President’s stance on same sex marriage 

CATHOLIC Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, His Grace, Most Rev Alfred Adewale Martins yesterday commended the resolve of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption in the country, urging him to be thorough in the exercise and not spare anyone found guilty of the offence.

While also calling on the President to take critical step in repositioning the economy for rejuvenation, he also appealed to him to grant clemency to the soldiers court-martialed by the military last year for refusal to obey their superiors’ orders, stating that the recent revelation of the immediate past Chief of Defense Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh (rtd.) that the Nigerian Army has been ill-equipped justifies this call.

Also, the Emeritus Archbishop of the Archdiocese, His Eminence, Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie has given a pass mark to the administration of President Buhari so far, acknowledging his stand that “slow and steady wins the race,” while stating that he deservedly needs time to pick out and tackle squarely, the enormous rot he met on the ground.

Speaking yesterday at the third anniversary celebration of his installation as the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos and the formal unveiling of the archdiocese’s social media platform, CatholicAgora, Martins noted that if the war on corruption which the president has taken upon himself to fight can be won, the destinations of all the looted funds of the nation must be identified and those found guilty of carting them away brought to book, while at the same time, blocking all loopholes to avoid future occurrences.

He stated that it is not enough to jail the people who are found guilty of these acts, stressing that what is more important is reparation from the convicted people through the returning of the ill-gotten wealth to the coffers of the nation.

Also, Vice Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Southern States Chapter, Archbishop George Amu, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for rejecting the controversial same-sex marriage and Gay Act. Archbishop Amu, who had earlier advised the Federal Government and the National Assembly against same-sex marriage, said Buhari had displayed his leadership quality and acumen for all Nigerians to emulate and for listening to public opinion.

Archbishop Amu reiterated that same-sex marriage equals to human race and generation extinction and a crime against God and humanity.

It’s God’s command that man and woman should live together as husband and wife in Genesis 2 verses 27 and 28, multiply and fill the entire world, he stated. In his call for clemency for the court-martialed soldiers, Martins said: “Only recently, one of the retired Service Chiefs was alleged to have affirmed that for long time, the Nigerian Army had been operating without adequate arms and ammunitions.

The result is that the lives of officers and men of the Forces are placed in jeopardy as they confront the Boko Haram sect members.

This revelation from a very high ranking military officer appears to have justified the position of some of the soldiers who were court-martialed last year for refusal to obey their superiors’ orders.

Okogie on his part, while speaking on the performance of President Buhari so far in the office, said that as far as he is concerned, the President has done well in this his short period in office.

Meanwhile, a university don and public affairs analyst, Professor Tony Afejuku yesterday urged Nigerians to be patient with President Muhammadu Buhari as his administration tries to fix the rot in various sectors of the country’s socio-economic and political life.

Afejuku however, expressed disappointment that the president did not make public his declared assets after doing that with the Code of Conduct Bureau. “It is too early in the day to assess the new president, I think we should still give him some time. However, up to this time we are talking, he has not declared his assets, if you are fighting corruption, one will expect that the first thing he would have done is for him to come out publicly to say this is what I have and this is what I don’t have.

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